Pocklington Goes Deep in Loss to Missouri State
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Junior infielder Parker Pocklington hit her third home run of the year but the University of Arkansas softball team dropped an 11-1 decision to Missouri State Tuesday evening at Bogle Park. Shelby Hiers also extended her streak of reaching base to double digits. With the setback, the Razorbacks are now 13-20 on the season with a weekend road trip to No. 12/11 Texas A&M up next on the schedule.
The three-game set in College Station begins Friday at 6:30 p.m. (CT) at the Aggie Softball Complex. Games two and three will be televised on the SEC Network with Pam Ward and Cheri Kempf handling the play-by-play and color commentary duties, respectively. All three games will also be available through the WatchESPN app.
Missouri State (13-16) jumped out to an early 3-0 lead with the help of a three-run shot in the first. With two outs in the bottom of the inning, Ashley Diaz and Rachel Box registered back-to-back hits but were left stranded with a fly ball to left to end the would-be threat. Diaz finished the game 1-for-2 to push her batting average to a team-leading .419 to go along with her team-high 39 hits this season.
Arkansas kept the visitors off the scoreboard in the second and Madison Yannetti tried to get things going with a one-out base hit up the middle. With the single, she matched her career high with her 16th hit of the season, matching her output as a freshman last year. The Bears added another run in to top of the third to take a 4-0 lead on an RBI single off the bat of Kaitlin Beason.
Leading off the Razorbacks’ half of the third, Hiers took a pitch off her back foot to earn a free pass down to first and push her on-base streak to 10 games. She has now reached base safely in 21 of 22 games including 12 of 13 since taking over the lead-off role in the Arkansas lineup. However, she was later erased on a double play to keep the Razorbacks scoreless. While the offense stalled, Missouri State cushioned its lead with seven runs over the fourth and fifth innings.
With one down in the fifth inning, Pocklington put a charge into the first offering from Missouri State starter Erin Struemph which resulted in a no-doubt solo shot off the outer gate in left field. The home run was her first since March 5 against Wright State and pushed Arkansas’ team total to 36 which is five more than last year’s total. Pinch hitter Carley Haizlip followed with a walk but the game came to an end with a strikeout.
For information about purchasing tickets for home games this season, call 800-982-HOGS (4647) or 479-575-5151, email raztk@uark.edu or visit the Razorback Ticket Center located next to Baum Stadium. The ticket window at Bogle Park opens one hour before first pitch of each game. Follow @RazorbackSB on Twitter for more information about Arkansas Softball.
